Hong Kong’s electoral overhaul contradicts China’s international commitments, said the European Union, which is considering sending high-level officials to visit.

In a statement published on Wednesday, Josep Borrell, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, described changes to the electoral system imposed by Beijing and passed in Hong Kong’s Legislative Council last month as “another breach” of the “one country, two systems” principle.

“These changes run counter to the commitments to greater democratic representation enshrined in the Hong Kong Basic Law,” he said.

Beside international coordination, the E.U. will continue to respond to the crackdown in Hong Kong by “increasing support to its civil society and media, promoting freedom of expression, facilitating mobility of Hong Kong citizens, as well as ensuring observation of the trials of pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong,” Borrell stressed.

A visit of high-level E.U. officials will be considered, he added.

In response, the Chinese Mission to the E.U. has expressed “strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition” to the statement. The E.U. ignored “positive effects” brought by the national security law and the electoral changes, a spokesperson said in a statement.

It accused the E.U. of intervening in Hong Kong affairs and undermining “one country, two systems” as well as the city’s prosperity and stability. It also urged the E.U. “to stop futile acts of banding against China.”

The latest exchange of words came amid growing tensions between China and the E.U. Last month, the European Parliament voted to freeze the E.U.-China Comprehensive Agreement for Investment, citing China’s counter-sanctions on members of the Parliaments and other individuals and entities for speaking out on China’s brutal repression of Uighurs in Xinjiang.

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